Guiding Hope
by Silver Dragonfly
Summary: No matter how many Anbu, Elite Jounin, Jounin or any other rank ninja that Konoha boasts, it is the children that are the heart of the village. They are the hope that will always keep Konoha alive, and they are Konoha's future. The Third


Guiding Hope  
By Silver Dragonfly  
  
  
Kakashi watched silently as nine of his fellow Jounin entered the Ninja Academy and   
then left through various exits, each with a trio of recent graduates close on their heels.   
His own trio was still waiting in their classroom; no doubt wondering just where the   
Jounin assigned to Team Seven was, but he wasn't ready to go in and meet them in   
person just yet.  
  
For the last six years the Sandaime would relieve him of his regular Jounin duties and   
assign him a team of Genin to test. Yet not once in all the six years he'd filled these   
duties had a team passed his trial. The very same challenge he had passed with his own   
team when he was only five years old.  
  
"Yondaime-sensei..." He whispered to himself in memory. Kakashi was the last left   
alive of those days. Both his Academy sensei and the Yondaime, who was also his Genin  
Team sensei, had been lost in the fight against the nine-tailed demon fox twelve years   
earlier. His two teammates, also lost in missions since then. All those he had held truly   
precious to him had been lost and yet over the past six years he tested newly graduated   
teams and risked having more precious people that could be lost. His mind drifted to   
when the Hokage had first convinced him to take the role of Jounin-sensei.  
  
_ "I'm relieving you of regular duties for awhile Kakashi." The   
Third Hokage stated as he set aside the scroll he had been reading   
and lifted his head to face Kakashi.  
  
"Hokage-sama I don't understand..."  
  
"I'm assigning you a team of graduates. The orientation is   
tomorrow."  
  
"Hokage-sama-- I can't do that."  
  
The Third settled back and took a deep breath.  
  
"Kakashi, why do you think the Yondaime took on a team--even   
after he had already accepted the position of the Fourth?"  
  
Kakashi remained silent for a few moments before he spoke. "He   
told me that he felt his true duty was to guide Konoha's Hope."  
  
"And do you know what he meant by Konoha's Hope?" The third  
then asked, a smile reaching his lips.  
  
Kakashi turned his gaze to see the portrait of the Yondaime that   
hung on the wall, and then snapped his focus back to the Third.   
"The children."  
  
"Correct. No matter how many Anbu, Elite Jounin, Jounin or any   
other rank ninja that Konoha boasts, it is the children that are the   
heart of the village. They are the hope that will always keep   
Konoha alive, and they are Konoha's future. It is the Hokages'   
most important duty to help guide and protect that hope. That is   
what I'm asking you to do."  
  
Kakashi turned to study the portrait once more. "I will accept the   
assignment of Jounin-sensei."  
  
The Third nodded. "Report back to my office tomorrow morning   
with the other Jounin assigned sensei duty."  
_   
Kakashi smiled as he remembered Gai's reaction when he had arrived at that meeting, for   
that had been the first year Gai had been appointed as a sensei as well. Neither of their   
teams had passed that first initial test—the test of teamwork and sacrificing individual   
gain for the team.   
  
Both he and Gai had been disappointed that the teams assigned to them had failed their   
test. Even so, they returned to their normal duties for another year until the next group of   
graduates emerged. Then last year Gai's assigned team had passed and Kakashi had no   
doubts about that team needing all the guidance Gai could give them. The girl of the   
group wasn't too much of a problem, fairly average as far as shinobi went, but the others:   
a member of the Hyuuga branch family and a boy who had no talent in chakara   
techniques but had a passion to succeed. He had wished Gai luck with them and gone on   
with his normal duties--until this year.   
  
Unlike previous years, the Hokage had relieved him of his normal duties several weeks   
earlier. The reason, the particular students he was to be assigned. First, Uchiha Sasuke--   
the survivor of a massacre--and the only other left in Konoha beside himself to carry the   
Sharingan. The Sharingan alone was enough reason for Kakashi to be assigned as his   
team's sensei, but the dark haired boy had other issues as well that would need his   
attention. Kakashi knew from first hand experience that seeking revenge was only a way  
to kill both yourself and the one you sought vengeance on, and he was pretty sure that   
revenge is what the boy was working so hard for.  
  
The second student, Haruno Sakura, would be the female member of the team and once   
they began to work together, he knew both the Hokage and the boy's other sensei hoped   
that she would help ground Sasuke in the here and now rather then on his self assigned   
mission. He had been watching both her and Sasuke for the past few weeks and was   
already quite familiar with most of their quirks. Including Sakura's obvious crush on   
Sasuke and her pride in her high marks. It would be interesting to work with the two of   
them; he had no doubts about that.  
  
The last student, however, was not yet a guarantee. For unlike the other two who would   
graduate without a doubt, Uzumaki Naruto was a wild card. The loud and hyperactive   
boy had joined the academy at a slightly younger age then most and had failed the final   
graduation exam twice. The Hokage seemed to believe that this year the boy would make   
it. Kakashi wasn't so sure, at least according to the boy's current marks. However, there   
was something about the blond-haired blue-eyed youth that made Kakashi smile. The kid   
had already survived much and had come a long way in his struggle to be recognized in a   
village that only saw a demon's shadow. Kakashi himself didn't hold the boy responsible   
for the demon, but instead saw the bright spirit that refused to give up despite the   
invisible battles both within and without. Upon hearing that Naruto was to be assigned to  
his team pending graduation, he had asked the Hokage about the seal and was somewhat   
surprised at the answer.  
  
_ "Hokage-sama, if I am to become his sensei, I need to know about   
that seal." Kakashi stated, leaving the rest of his request unstated,   
knowing that the Hokage knew what he meant. If during their   
missions, the seal became unstable, or started to break, Kakashi   
would need to know how to try and stop it, or if possible fix it.  
  
"Kakashi, the seal was designed carefully for two purposes. The   
first to seal the nine tails within Naruto—the second, to protect   
Naruto from those who would attack him because of the demon he  
carries. As Naruto grows older, the power of the nine-tails begins   
to blend and mix with his. It reacts to his emotions, his pain, his   
spirit, and eventually he will be able to call upon that sleeping   
power within him. It is also that tremendous power that causes   
Naruto so much trouble in mastering the simpler techniques."   
  
Kakashi's visible eyebrow arched up in surprise. If the boy had as   
much chakara as the Hokage was hinting at—it was no wonder   
he'd failed the last two years. It would take incredible control to be  
able to adequately control and use that—and advanced control   
training didn't come until students were Genin.   
  
"Thank you Hokage-sama."  
  
The Hokage nodded, and then Kakashi turned to leave his office,   
much on his mind concerning the students he would be assigned.  
_  
Kakashi smiled to himself as his mind returned to the present. Uzumaki Naruto had   
indeed passed the graduation exam, though it had been brought about by other   
outstanding circumstances that he had not fully learned about yet. And now Team Seven   
was assigned to his care and his judgment, and for once he truly hoped that they passed   
his test. He had found each of them unique and interesting in the last few weeks he had   
observed them and if they could work together as a team…Konoha's hope would shine   
that much brighter.   
  
He glanced lazily up at the sun, now well on its' way towards the western horizon and   
mused that he'd made them wait long enough. It was time for Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno   
Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto to meet Hatake Kakashi.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A one-shot tribute to Kakashi's thoughts on the day he took on Team Seven  
  
Special Thanks to Lina for being my sounding board and beta reader.  
  
  



End file.
